“So what are we supposed to do?”
“I’m not sure.” Gautier squinted. “Are you planning to marry Clementine in a few years? We certainly can’t be open if so.”
Aleric scowled. “If I was planning to marry her, I wouldn’t be in your bed. If you’re going to be faithful to someone, shouldn’t you start before marriage?”
“I don’t know what you two have talked about in private. You two are obviously quite close. Maybe she doesn’t care if you take lovers now. You don’t have to be fucking right now.”
“She has no interest in men, there’s no secret betrothal, and we’re not planning anything in private. Her Father has hinted, and she’s certain he expects us to marry later. That’s why he’s always allowed her to come over or for me to go to her house. He wants to be the Father of a Countess and Grandfather to a future lord.”
“Oh, he’s one of those types?”
“Exactly, but the sun will fall out of the sky before Clementine gets in bed with me and bears my children. We’re hoping her Father will give up after a while since I’m clearly not making any move toward marriage with her.”
Gautier said the best thing for them to do was wait a couple of years. They’d keep quiet, and that meant Aleric couldn’t even tell Clementine, which he protested. He told his friend everything, and Gautier said they shouldn’t risk her letting anything slip or acting differently toward them. After a couple of years, once Aleric seemed more like an adult in Lord Monet’s eyes, they could be open. If he had already been with the same man for so long, it would be obvious their relationship wasn’t a quick fling that would fizzle out in a couple of weeks.
With that, Lord Monet would get over the age gap. Clearly, with Aleric happy and well-treated by Gautier, he couldn’t object. Aleric finally agreed.
“One day, maybe you’ll let me breed you for real and put a child in your belly.” Gautier slid his hand over Aleric’s waist.
If he wanted to have a child, that meant he intended for them to marry at a future point. A man only interested in a fling wouldn’t bring up children, and Aleric would be happy to have this man in his life forever.
During the day, they treated each other like nothing special was happening, and Aleric said nothing to Clementine even though he didn’t like keeping it from her. Lord Monet was oblivious, and Zacharie was too young to tell or give a shit. A couple of men tried to approach him, hoping to get in his trousers, and Aleric rejected them.
By the end of summer, those who liked gossip didn’t need to look close to home to find something to yak about. The Crown Prince and Prince of Moria, King Alton’s sons, ran away with two women, or as one Countess put it, “a couple of trollops.” Utterly infuriated and claiming he’d never forgive his sons, King Alton named his nephew, Raoul, as the new Crown Prince of Moria.
In the spring of 1687, gossip about King Alton’s family matters died out. Queen Margot and Crown Prince Enzo died in a vicious werewolf attack. The werewolves had come from Rowland. There had already been werewolf trouble in Soleil, and King Jean had banned werewolves from their borders, so rumors of potential war started. King Jean, devastated by the death of his wife and oldest son, demanded answers.
Why was King Giorgio of Rowland allowing them on passenger ships headed for Soleil? The three who’d come that one morning had obviously intended to kill as many as possible in retaliation for the deaths of a few in the north.
King Giorgio of Rowland refused to restrict the werewolves who lived in his Kingdom and South Sea, another country to the south that had been mostly abandoned by fairies. He also claimed he couldn’t control everyone with a ship, and he wasn’t at fault.
With the rulers of both Kingdoms going back and forth, the attitude toward Rowland people changed, and some of the courtiers started treating Aleric a bit differently since he was half Rowland, thanks to his Mother. Father kicked out a few,and while he didn’t admit it, it was likely because they’d said something too insulting to ignore.
The werewolf who’d directly attacked Queen Margot and Prince Enzo was dead. One other had died. The one to live was imprisoned. Some wondered if the remaining werewolf would be put to death soon. The trio had viciously attacked a crowd and caused a mass panic, so all three were responsible for lost Soleilian lives. They’d fought as if rabid. Moria wasn’t of much interest anymore even though Raoul had supposedly run away, caused trouble, been caught in humiliating circumstances, and ended up being sent on holiday to a house by the beach to “rest.”
Aleric wasn’t entirely sure what that meant or what his problem was. Matters in Soleil were more interesting. Before his twentieth birthday in 1688, the werewolf was still imprisoned.
Sometimes, Aleric and Gautier couldn’t help but sneak away to have a few minutes during the day even if it was just to simply be near each other to talk without eyes. Or occasionally to have a quick kiss. One morning, they snuck into the tower since nobody went up there.
They’d been having an issue in the past few months because Gautier had brought up a kink, and Aleric wasn’t into it. He liked being tied up, whipped with the belt, caned, and being called a slut. He also liked having his head pushed down during oral to give it a forced feel.
Consensual non-consent was not a kink he was into. He didn’t mind giving a little resistance during kink and sex, and it was fine for Gautier to pin him and “force” him to take it during anal or oral because he liked it. He didn’t want to pretend he was being raped and beg for it to stop or continuously struggle during the act. If other people liked that, fine. It didn’t mean he was willing to engage in it, and the concept creeped him out a bit.
Gautier argued that consensual non-consent was simply a different way of exchanging power. If Aleric liked being tied tothe bed to be used at his leisure for a couple of hours, why couldn’t he take it a little farther? Why couldn’t he let himself be “attacked” and fight the whole time while he was fucked anyway? It was like acting, and he’d still have his safety word or signal if needed. No harm would come to him.
Aleric still refused. It was too uncomfortable, and even though he loved Gautier, he couldn’t bring himself to do it. Gautier hadn’t brought it up lately, and in the tower, they started kissing and touching.
“I’d like it if we could finally be open,” Aleric said as he rested his head on Gautier’s chest.
“Not yet.”
“Hasn’t it been long enough, Alex?”
“We’re not sure if there’s going to be a war or not, and Regis has been a bit distracted.”
“I know. Father’s going to pay the fine. His knees are getting too painful, and he’s not going to war. He’s going to pay the fine for me too because he doesn’t want me going to war.”
“Smart.”
